Gun counter-recoil assist mechanism



' July 6, 1948. F. F. RUAU GUN COUNTER-RECOIL ASSIST MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 10, 1945 July 6, 1948. F. F. RUAU GUN COUNTER-RECOIL ASSISTMECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001;. 10, 1945 Patented July 6, i948 Gun counrna-nacomassrsrr ,f l

, UHMEOHANISM,

and, Deptford, London, England,

assignor to Molins Machine Company, Limited,

London, England a Application ctober to, hasten at; 621,619, i

In Great Britain October 16, 1944 '1 This invention concerns improvements or relating to ordnance of the recoiling type, the terrnfordnance" being hereinafterreplaced by thewordfguns." [In'guns of the recoiling type the barrel and associated parts recoil during firing against the action of a spring or equivalent device and then" run out, to bring the gun to battery; the-force necessary being" provided by the compressed spring. When it is desired to increase the rate oi f firing of the gun and in particular'when guns are "fitted with automatic loading and firing appliances; itjis found that the gun does not run out promptly enough and it is often impossible to increase the speed of runout by strengthening the spring of therecoil devicesas there-is not room; in existing guns "forf'su'ch strengthened su 1 [According to the invention there is provided a device for "assistingihe runout comprising an :auxiliary spring adapted to be loaded during the recoil of the gun and "a cockin'gdevice to retain the, spring in the loaded condition during part of the runout (e. g. until themajor'part' of the runoutha been completed) and to release the spring at a desired time (e. '9. near the end of the runout) to provide an additional forceior efie'ct'ingithe runout. The-spring may be connected to a. pivoted lever adapted to be engaged by an abutment on the recoiling part of the gun and rotated on its pivot to reload the spring, said abutment being so shaped as therea'fter'to hold the lever in the loaded position, thus constituting a cooking device, the spring being released as the lever moves clear of the abutment near the end ofithe runout and thereafter operating on the moving parts for the purpose set forth.

l-ne=way of carrying the invention into efiect will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show a few parts of a six-pounder quick-firing gun of the type'proneed wltha semi-automatic breech.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevation showing the device cocked, the view being partly in section and some parts being broken away;

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1 in the direction of the arrow H, the barrel being run out and at rest.

It will be assumed that said gun is provided with automatic loading and firing appliances which necessitate that the gun shall recoil and run out as rapidly as possible.

Referring to the drawings, a bracket l is fixed to the recoiling parts of the gun, for example, to

"4 Claims. (01.89-44) the barrel 2 or slipper 3 thereof towardsthebreech end and onthis bracket there'is fixed an abutment consisting of a flat plate! 50 arranged that its length is parallel to the axis 'of'th'e gun barrel, The' plate may be adjustable lengthwise on thebracket or other means maybe provided whereby the position'of its rear end face l5rela tively to the breech may be adjusted. On apart of the gun cradle 6 in thevicinity of the said plate; when the gun is at rest; there are fixed plates 1 inwhich is pivoted; by a pint, a lever 9 having a roller Hlorsimilar device at its free end which is so positioned that theroller can engagethe abutment or-plate 4 in the manner described hereafter." i i l About midway'ofthe length oi thelever 9 apivot pin ll isarrang'edwhich passes througha boss ll of rod I! which is'surrounded by a strong compression "spring l3. In the drawing the spring is'=made up of several'separa'te springs, these being parts of ordnance readily available in war timeFThe-"other end of the rod slides in a bush I8 which is supported-by cross pins I4 journalled in half-bearings [5 which are supported in'the plate Land the arrangement is such that when the pivoted lever 9 is rotated in one direction, the spring I3 is compressed and whenreleasedthe-spring will urge the lever in the other direction. Brackets I9 :fixed to the plates I are provided tohousethe pins and hold the 'parts in position when for any reason the pin'llfis'removed, e. g. when the auxiliary spring is tobe put out of action for any reason; The operation of the device is as follows: When the gun isat rest, the rear end face 5 of the plate! which forms the abutment is in line with the roller ID on 'the pivoted lever -9' and when the gunbarr'el recoils, (moving in the direction of the arrowl6,"Figure 2) the end 5 of the plate 14 presses on the roller ll! of the lever {and twists thelever around its pivot 8 tosuch an extent that the roller moves 'to sucha posi-'- tion that it can run on the under surface of the moving plate. During this movement the spring is of course compressed and it is also cocked, as the plate l runs along over the roller which prevents the lever from returning. The plate is of sufiicient length to ensure that the roller cannot move upwards at any time during the recoil, and runout starts with the roller still held down by the plate so that the spring is still cocked. Towards the end of the runout the plate moves beyond the position occupied by the roller on the pivoted lever and the latter immediately moves up under the pressure or the spring In, and endetermined by the rate of firing which in turn depends on the eiiiciency of the automatic loading and firing appliances.

In the case of the six-pounderigun being {deals scribed the breech as is usual in such guns is opened towards the end of the runout by the means of a roller on a breech-opening leverwhich runs up a cam. The resistance offered by the sem and a locking device to retain the spring in the loaded condition during the remainder of the recoil and until the major part of the counter-recoil has been completed, and to release the spring near the end of the counter-recoil to provide an additional force for effectingthe counter-recoil. 3.1In agun'pfthe type-in which the barrel and associated partsrecoil duringfiring against the action of a resilient device which then causes a device forassisting the counter-recoil to bring "the 'gun to battery, a device for assisting the counter-recoil comprising an auxiliary spring, a pivotedlever to which said spring is connected,

them to counter-recoil to bring the gun to battery,

an gabutment. onsthe recoiling part of the gun adapted to engage the said lever during recoil to otategit' on its pivotto load the spring, said abutm'ent being so' shaped as thereafter to hold the is very considerable and slows up run-out a goody.-

deal. For automatic working extremely rapid extraction is necessary. The setting of the part A relatively to the roller in depends on thefconditicns of any given case. As shownfinFigure 2 the auxiliary spring ,comes into operation some tin ebefore the end of the runoutso as to'ove'roomesaid resistance in order that the breech may. be opened before the runoutisfinished and the extractipn may. talge place towardsitheend of the runout, to. enable anew round to be rammed at once. As stated above the part. 4 can be adjusted as to its position andto suit any given' s et of cir; cumstancesthe length .of part 4 can be ,ofv any desired dimension. i As the speed at which the breech is opened is of paramountimportance in automatic working it may be se en that the present invention is of considerable value in :this connection the additional force is available at the moment when the breech is tobeopened.

Further, the movement of the pivoted lever may be used wherever desired for doing any other work besides assisting thereturn to battery;

What-I claim as my inventionand desireto secure by IettersPatentisz; V

, .1., In a ,gun'of thetype in which the barrel and associatedpants recoi-lduring firing against the action of aresilient device which .then causes them to counter-recoil tobring the gun. to battery,

a device for assisting the counter-r'ecoilcompris ing an auxiliary spring, means actuated by the recoil or the gun to load said spring during recoil, and a cocking device to retain the springinthe loaded condition during the remainder of the re coil and part of the counter-recoil and .to, release the spring .at a desired timeto provide an additional force. for eiiecting the counter-recoil.

p 2. In a. gun ,of the type in which the barrel and associated parts recoilduringfiring. against the action of a resilient device which' then causes them to counter-recoilto bring the gun tobat tery,a device forassisting the counter-'recoilco'nk prising an auxiliary spring, means actuated by the rec i Of the gun to load said springduringlrecoilj,

lever in the spring-loading position to retain the spring in the loaded condition during the remainder of the recoil and partof the cou ter-r coil, the abutment thus constituting a cooking file: Vice, the-spring being released as the lever moves clear of the abutment during counter-recoil and thereafter operatingon themoving parts to provide an additional force for effecting the counterrecoil. I

In 'a'euu o the' yp'e n which the ba el and. associated parts recoil during firing against the action of a resilient device which then causes them tocounter-recoil to bring the gun tobat tery, a devicefor assisting the counter-recoil coin-.9 prising anhuxiliary spring a pivoted leyer to Which-Ysaidspring is connected, an abutment on the recoiling part of the gun adapt d to engage thesaid lever during recoil to rotate it on itspiyot to load the spring, said abutment being soshaped as thereafter to hold the lever in the spring-load.- ing position to retain the spring in the loaded condition during the remainder of the recoil and until the major part of the counter-recoil has been completedthe abutment thus constituting a cocking device, the spring being relea d as the lever ,mov'e:s clear ,of the abutment near, the 6nd of the counter-recoil, and thereafter operating on the moving parts to provide an".dditional.f.01t

for efiecting'the counter-recoil, I marinara now.

REFERENCES cit-rill) he following references are of recbrd'in the file of this patent: I

UNITED TATES PATENTS Germany -.;4 iOct. 1,1388 

